(For the Certificate Completion Form, visit the Graduate College website and find the Forms section.)

Admission Requirements

Students may pursue the graduate certificate while enrolled in any master’s program OR as a certificate-only student.

Students already enrolled in a master’s degree program should submit to Graduate Admissions a Secondary Program Request form at www.marshall.edu/graduate/forms/SecondaryProgramRequestForm.pdf

Applicants interested in the certificate-only program should apply for admission to Marshall University as a Certificate/Professional Development student and select on the application form the Certificate in Geospatial Information Science - Advanced.

Applicants to the Graduate GIScience Certificate – Advanced program must have completed the Certificate in Geospatial Information Science – Basic before entry into the program. Students transferring from other institutions or Marshall graduates with the equivalent of the Basic certificate may enroll for the Advanced certificate.

GIScience credits can count toward a master’s degree in several departments such as Geography, Physical Science, Health Informatics, Environmental Sciences, Technology Management, and Information Technology. Please see an advisor in the appropriate department.

Program

Geospatial Information Science is a research field that utilizes specialized computer hardware, software, and procedures for presentation and analysis of all types of natural and social science data referenced (mapped) to the earth’s surface. Students who complete the requirements for the Advanced certificate should be able to:

apply GIScience to display, support, and analyze research questions in the social or natural sciences;

collect and create GIScience data using various technologies and softwares;

recognize and apply computer science concepts such as data collection, representation, queries, and storage; and

enter GIScience employment or continue GIScience work at the doctoral level.

An Advanced graduate certificate in GIScience consists of a minimum of 12 hours in courses designated as GIScience courses beyond the requirement for the GIScience Certificate - Basic. Students must have a B (3.0) average in all their GIScience courses and no grade below a C (2.0) in their GIScience courses to earn the certificate.

Required courses:

At least one advanced analysis course: GEO 529 GIS Vector Analysis (3 hrs.) or GEO 530 GIS Raster Analysis (3 hrs.). This requirement is waived if a student completed one of these courses as part of the Certificate in Geospatial Information Science – Basic, an undergraduate equivalent of one of these courses, or an equivalent advanced analysis course from another institution.

At least one remote sensing course: GEO531 Principles of Remote Sensing and Photogrammetry (3 hours), BSC/PS510 Remote Sensing with GIS Applications (4 hours), BSC 511/PS 511 Digital Image Processing and GIS Modeling (4 hrs.), PLS533 GIS and Remote Sensing for Natural Resource Management (3 hrs.), or a Special Topics remote sensing course. This requirement is waived if a student completed one of these courses as part of the Certificate in Geospatial Information Science – Basic, an undergraduate equivalent of one of these courses, or an equivalent Remote Sensing course from another institution.